EFSA assesses safety of lycopene in foods

14.04.08 - 15:17 ... source : EFSA

... 14/04/2008 EFSA was asked to assess the safety of the red food colour lycopene from all food sources, considering both that contained naturally in fruit and vegetables and the use of lycopene as a food additive. EFSA's AFC[1] Panel established an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for lycopene of 0.5 mg per kilogram of body weight per day from all sources. It however pointed out that high consumers of foods containing lycopene in certain groups of the population, such as pre-school and school children, may exceed the ADI. Non-alcoholic flavoured drinks are the largest potential source of lycopene. This opinion will also help inform ongoing evaluations by EFSA's NDA[2] Panel, expected to be adopted in Spring 2008, concerning the use of lycopene as a novel food ingredient. Previous assessments of lycopene and its consumption in the EU had only taken into account exposure to lycopene which had been p ...» Next (HTML)